Am I just killing time or?
Well I started after I read an article elsewhere about it, written by @anouk.nox. It was over 1 year ago but everything did not work out the way as expected. There was hardly no interaction with other Steemians and the subject I was adviced to write about nobody actually read, so I gave up on it. I joined Steemit after my writing partner @enrique.dutch did and he left a long time ago already.
Since my connection is not stable, it became harder and harder to join a discord group plus I am not able to join life "classes" and chats so I gave up on that as well. I also found out the biggest part of what I saw and read was not what I would call "original" or "good content". So I gave mainly up on Steemit. Also because it is not easy to work via the browser of your smartphone (no I do not have a laptop).
At a certain point I did discover Steepshot. It did work for a while but I had problems with it as well. "Overwhelming" are some posters who would be labeled as scammers at every other social media. Posting whole day on and always the same 2 or 3 lines. Is this what Steemit is about? Honestly speaking: If you just see posts like these there is no reason to promote Steemit. None of the people I know are interested in seeing the same pictures time after time. We like to read and write, invest time in our comments and are not scared to have a discussion. In the meanwhile also @vampiremeerkat left. For an artist Steemit did not turn out to be the right place untill so far. Not everybody is interested in joining contests.
From one moment to an other I was not able to post anylonger (Well I was but not more as 1 post in 12-14 hours and no I did not read any message about it.)
I was bussy writing elsewhere (if it comes to writing it is not all about the money, a writer writes because it is a need to do so), but I did bump into @iamjadeline and @anonymity5.
What I figured out about Steemit:
- You can post every piece of shit as a picture, no need to waste time on 2 or 3 words. If you post non stop, daily, you have a lot of upvotes (it beats me why).
I also noticed very unclear pictures with some info on it, which nobody is able to read, do get a lot of votes. Although people did leave the message it is impossible to read it, nothing has changed. I wonder why people upvote pictures like that, or is it the mighty bot speaking? - Generally speaking: most people are not able to write good content, not in English, not in their own language. I doubt if it is possible to change that, since we are not educated on the same level plus the interests are different.
- It is hard to get wiser over here. The FAQ on Steemit.com is written for those who already are familiar with the concept. Articles about crypto currencies are partly good content, but hard to understand if you just joined plus there are so many words and expressions in it a list with what it all means wouldn't be a waste of time (added to the content).
- It is great to get some upvotes, but... it is also great to receive some comments. Without a comment it is as if you are just writing for... ("Jan Doedel" I could say).
No comments? This means there is also no interaction, especially not if you are also not able to join discord. - I try to read as much as possible. This way I learn from other people, also because I am not a native speaker if it comes to the English language. I do my best and there isn't much more I can do. Yes, I do understand many Steemians are limited if it comes to Steempower. I have the same problem. It is kind of frustrating for sure, but still it is possible to leave a comment once a day.
I gave up on Steepshot because it did not work for me. I was not able to login or post most of the times and only once I was able to make a layout that looked a bit like a blog. I heard the app was gone, no longer available in the appstore either. Lately I heard it works with some people.
Well for me it is Partiko 2018 (I should say in 2018 and the New Year) from now on. Thanks to the freewriters who adviced it to me. In most cases Partiko does work for me and my very slow connection and it is way easier/more friendly as Steemit.com
As I started with Steemit.com again (more actively) I met a different group of people.
Writers and freewriters, poets, etc. People willing to explain and give a hand with some problems I had to deal with.
It took me some time to figure out what @mariannewest and @freewritehouse were standing for, how the contests work.
Mainly because these posts contain so much information it is hard for me to figure out what it is all about.
I had help from @onnovocks and @crypto.piotr so I am able to post and comment and resteem again. Since one hand washes the other I do read posts of people now, I would probably not have found on my own. It does cost a lot of time and yes I do run out of steempower fast, but I hope to recover in time.
Would I recommend to join Steem?
I will be honest. Steemit did not bring me what I did expect from it. The contact with those I started with is gone. I simply, partly, stayed and posted a bit, I quess partly because I hoped for better times and partly because I do not easily give up on something. I was not able to find people with the same kind of interests and I had way more fun and responds elsewhere.
Still... I would recommend to join Steem now and use Partiko. Partiko really makes it so much easier to post and read, especially if you like writing and reading. If so, do join some of the contests. It is amazing how many there are and for sure you will learn knowing a lot more people (if you like to).
I also read all kind of news I never see in the (online) newspapers.
Yes there is a lot of bad content (wrong information too), but you will find that everywhere. Just keep in mind that because someone wrote it down it does not mean it is the truth!
I wish you all a great 2019 and a warm welcome to the new Steemians!

This picture is a pixabay.com pic. Let's make a fist, give eachother a helping hand.